Dr. Joseph Pauco, an accused World War II Nazi collaborator, resigned yesterday from his post as controller of the Republican National Committee’s affiliated group, the Heritage Groups Nationalities Council. His resignation came two cays after a demand for his ouster was made by the B’nai B’rith’s Anti-Defamation League. ADL chairman Seymour Graubard cited Pauco’s record as an aide to Joseph Tiso, Hitler’s puppet ruler of occupied Slovakia who was hanged as a war criminal after the war. The resignation was accepted by Laszlo Pasztor, head of the Ethnic Council and was confirmed in an exchange of letters between Dr.Pauco and Sen. Robert Dole (R., Kan.) Republican National Committee chairman.
The committee’s deputy chairman of communications, Lyn Nofziger, stressed in a written note to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that Pauco “has resigned from his sole position that has any connection with the National Republican Party.” The ADL hailed the resignation as “a satisfying response to the justified concern of thousands of Americans” and said that the Pauco affair should serve as a warning to political parties “of the need to close ranks against the intrusion of anti-Democratic elements seeking to use them for their own purposes.
In his letter to Sen. Dole, dated Oct. 6, Pauco said he had been “cleared twice in similar circumstances” and that as a result he was admitted into the US and was able to become an American citizen. Pauco signed the letter as secretary of the Slovak League of America whose letterhead identifies it as “a cultural and civic federation of Slovak Americans organized in 1907 in Cleveland, Ohlo.” Dole said in his reply to Pauco, “Without in any way giving credence to the charges made in the Jack Anderson column (which described Pauco as “Hitler’s leading propagandist in occupied Slovakia in the 1940’s”), I believe you have chosen the vise and unselfish course in offering to resign from your position with the Heritage Groups Nationalities Council.” After noting that this “kind offer” of resignation has been accepted, Dole wrote, “Despite this it remains my earnest hope that you will be able to prove that these charges against you are unfounded.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
